Harness-saddle



(No Model.) W. A. WALKER.

HARNESS SADDLE No. 555,592. Patented Mar. 3, 1896.

Wiigesses ANDREW B GRAHAM. PHOTO LmiCLwAsmN GYONDC UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WVlLLIAM A. WALKER, OF KOKOMO, INDIANA.

HARNESS-SADDLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 555,592, dated March 3, 1896.

Application filed March 30, 1895. Serial No. 543,878. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, VVILLIAM A. WALKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kokomo, in the county of Howard and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Harness-Saddle, of which the following is a specification.

The purpose of the present invention is to improve harness-saddles, and particularly the connections for attaching the shaft-carrier straps to the skirt, whereby the use of loops is obviated and the slotting or cutting of the skirt not necessary, thereby prolonging the life of the saddle and increasing its durability, and at the same time enabling the ready detachment of the carrier-straps to admit of repairs or cleaning or for any other required purpose.

Other objects will appear hereinafter from the novel features described and illustrated in the annexed drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective viewof a harnesssaddle embodying the principles of the invention, the pad on one side being removed to show more clearly the relative dispositionof the parts. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section ofone-half of the saddle on a larger scale, the pad being omitted. Fig. 3 is a top plan View of a portion of the skirt. Fig. 4: is an inverted perspective view of the box or housing which receives the upper end of a shaftcarrier strap.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 represents a harness-saddle of usual con struction and comprising the gig-saddle 2, skirt 3, shaft-carrier straps 4:, tree 5, pad 6, and terret 7. The box or housing 8, which is secured upon the skirt, one on each side to receive the upper ends of the shaft-carrier straps 4, is closed on all sides except the bottom and one end, the latter having an opening 9 to receive the end portion of the carrierstrap 4:. This box is substantially rectangular-shaped in plan elevation, and has its sides sloping to shed water and give a neat and finished appearance to the device. The box is shallow and of sufficient depth to correspond to the thickness of the carrier-strap 4, which latter is comprised between the top side of the skirt and the inner wall of the box-top. The lower edges of the walls or sides are broadened to obtain an extended bearing upon the skirt, so as to obviate injurious contact there- .with, and have studs 10 pendent from their lower edges to enter corresponding openings 11 in the skirt, whereby the box is maintained in fixed relative posit-ion and prevented from lateral displacement. A cross-bar 12 is located at the open end of the box, and its lower side is flush with the lower edges of the walls to bear upon the skirt and prevent rubbing and chafing of the latter in the oscillatory movements of the carrier-strap. This crossbar braces and strengthens the side" walls of the box, and is thin and broad to provide an extended surface to withstand the rubbing action of the carrier-strap and prevent engagement of the latter with the skirt at the point where the wear usually comes. An opening 13 is formed in the top side of the box 8 to admit of the passage of the shank portion of the terret 7 when the parts are assembled and held in place.

In assembling the parts the carrier-straps are passed through the open ends of the boxes, and the latter are placed in position upon the skirt so that the studs 10 enter the openings 11 therein. The terrets 7 have their threaded shank portions passed through registering openings in the carrier-straps, skirt, and metal plates 14 and engaged with burs 15 placed on the inner sides of the said plates 14: and screwed therein so as to bind and secure the parts in fixed relation. The metal parts 14 form a continuation of or are attached to the side portions of the tree 5, and the burs 15 are winged to provide retaining-points to sustain them in place against the tension created by screwing the terrets home when binding the parts together. The studs 10 will be provided in sufficient number and suitably disposed to attain the desired results, and are preferably an integral part of the box or housing, being cast therewith.

In constructing and providing the invention to meet the various patterns of harness it is manifest that changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is In a harness-saddle, the combination of the skirt, a metal plate forming an extension of the tree and disposed on the inner side of the skirt, a Winged bur located on the inner side of the metal plate and having its threaded portion projecting through an openin g formed therein, a box having its lower side and end open, and having studs at the open side fitted into corresponding openings in the skirt a flattened cross-bar at the open end of the box and in the plane of its lower side and bearing against the outer side of the skirt, a carrier-strap having its upper end passed through the opening formed between the said crossbar and the top of the box, and a tcrret having its threaded shank passed through registcrin g openings in the top of the box and the skirt and entering the threaded portion of the winged bur to secure the parts in fixed rela tion, substantially in the manner set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses. I

WILLIAM A. \VALKER. Vitnesses:

JOHN J. ULRICH, ALLEN D. ULRICH. 

